Shake-up at St. Vincent

St. Vincent de Paul High School’s principal is leaving, and a new position of president will be created.|

St. Vincent de Paul High School will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year with an almost completely reorganized administrative structure. The Santa Rosa Diocese, which oversees the school, announced last week a significant change in leadership with the retiring of St. Vincent de Paul pastor Father Gary Lombardi from the active ministry and the resignation of school principal Dr. John Walker.

As pastor, Father Lombardi has taken an active and guiding role in helping develop and advance both the St. Vincent elementary and high school over the past 23 years, school officials said. He will remain until late summer or early fall. Walker has been St. Vincent High School principal for the past 13 years. He will leave the school June 30.

The search is on for a replacement for Walker, and also for a person to fill the newly created administrative position of president. At the same time, the high school’s Board of Regents will be reorganized as a “Board of Limited Jurisdiction.” The president and new board will oversee both St. Vincent de Paul High School and St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School.

Dr. Linda Norman, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, said the changes are being made to provide a stronger supporting structure for the schools.

“It is all for the students and providing the support they need,” Norman said. “With private schools there is a business component as well as an academic and learning component. This will allow us to better manage both.”

Under the reorganization, the president will be responsible for “leadership in institutional advancement, management of financial resources, strategic planning and fidelity to mission of the school.” The principal will be responsible for “academic leadership and the daily operation of the school.”

Unlike the current Board of Regents, which is advisory only, the new Board of Limited Jurisdiction will have management jurisdiction over both the high school and the elementary school, Norman said. She stressed that while the new president and the new board will be responsible for both schools, the high school and elementary school will continue to be separate institutions.

“They will still be unique and separate schools with their own identities,” she said.

While the changes are being made to bring the St. Vincent schools more in line with the governance model being used by Catholic schools across the country, they come at a time of economic challenges facing all schools in a time of increasing enrollment competitiveness.

In 2008. St. Vincent had an enrollment of around 380 students. This year, the enrollment is just shy of 300. Norman said that declining enrollment is not unique to Catholic or private schools.

“All schools, including public schools are experiencing declining enrollment,” she said.

“We are enrollment dependent,” acknowledged Father Lombardi. “We have to adjust to continue to do what we are doing, which is to educate our students. This is a more challenging time for us.”

Father Lombardi has set no date for his retirement. He will continue to work with the Board of Regents, Norman and representatives from the faculty and staff of both schools to interview and select an inaugural president.

One of the first duties of the new president will be to work with a variety of groups, including the pastor, board of regents, students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni to develop and execute a strategic plan to guide the schools’ future.

Walker said he believes the new organizational structure will help ensure the continuity of the high school.

“One of the most precious things about St. Vincent is the powerful tradition we have here,” he explained. “We need to ensure that remains.”

Walker said he is looking forward to new experiences in the education field.

“I’ve been here for 13 years. This is a long time for me,” he said. “I love this school, but I look forward to a new kind of adventure in education. There are a variety of possibilities.”

Norman said it was “pretty amazing” how the reorganization, the retirement of Father Lombardi and the leaving of Walker all came together. She said, despite the challenges, the future looks bright for St. Vincent.

“We are going to look at who we are, what we are doing and what we can do better,” she said. “We are an important member of the community and we are going to continue to give it what it needs in these challenging times.”

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com.)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.